Why was Karl Marx buried at Highgate Cemetery in London?
Marx lived in London for the last 34 years of his life (from 1849 to 1883). From 1856 he and his family lived in north-west London, which was convenient for his research work at the British Library (then housed at the British Museum in Bloomsbury) — it was also a much better area for a family with young children than Soho, where they were living before. His first family home in north-west London was 9 Grafton Terrace NW5 4JE (1856-64); he then moved round the corner to 1 Modena Villas (since re-named: you’ll find it at 1 Maitland Park Road NW3) and then moved a few doors along, to 41 Maitland Park Road NW3 2EX, in 1875. All three homes are just off Haverstock Hill — on the borders of Kentish Town, Belsize Park and South End Green in Hampstead. And they’re all in the local ‘catchment area’ for Highgate Cemetery.
